SEPTEMBER TROPICAL STORMS (1851-2011):

This particular blog entry is an updated version of a similar blog entry I wrote last year (to account for the 2011 season and various other HURDAT revisions). In it, we will continue our examination of the entire historical record (1851-present), with a focus on "September" Tropical Cyclone (TC) activity throughout the Atlantic Basin. A "September" TC will be characterized as one that initially developed at some point during the month of September (i.e. September 1-September 30). Those TC's (shown by year) that achieved hurricane (H) and/or "major" hurricane (MH) intensity will be designated by bold case print in the following respective sections.

This is a visible satellite image of the most intense "September" TC to have ever been observed anywhere within the Atlantic Basin. At the time of this satellite image, hurricane "Gilbert" was near its peak intensity-with a maximum sustained wind (MSW) of 185 mph and a lowest central pressure of 888 mb. Image courtesy of "NOAA".

ALL U.S. TROPICAL STORM LANDFALLS:

Note: These totals include all U.S. land falling TCs of at least Subtropical or Tropical Storm intensity.

Note: Storm #3 of 1932 also made landfall as a TS during the month of August, prior to it's H landfall during the very early morning hours of Sept. 1. Likewise, Storm #11 of 1933 and Storm #7 of 1934 each made a subsequent landfall during the month of Sept. as a TS, following their respective landfalls at MH and H intensity, respectively.

Also: Storm #5 of 1961 (H Esther) may very well have been a H strike (i.e. delivered hurricane-force sustained winds to a particular coastal area) for eastern-most Long Island, N.Y. during the very early morning hours of September 21, 1961.

Furthermore, Storm #5 of 1972 (H Dawn) may have brought TS force conditions to the U.S. shoreline.

This is a truly historic photograph that was taken shortly after the most intense hurricane in U.S. recorded history had barreled through the middle and upper Florida Keys during the late evening hours of September 2, 1935. The Great Labor Day Hurricane (GLDH) of 1935 battered this area with a MSW of 185 mph and a lowest central pressure of 892 mb. Wind gusts of well over 200 mph and a storm surge of roughly 20 feet (above mean sea level) combined to devastate the region, and derail the "relief train" (shown above) that had been sent to evacuate those-mostly World War I veterans-that lay in harms way. Sadly, more than 408 persons perished during their encounter with the most powerful hurricane ever known to strike U.S. shores. Image provided courtesy of the NWS archives.

INTERESTING FACTS:

1) All Atlantic Basin Tropical Storms:

a) Total number of Atlantic basin tropical storms: There were a total of 500 "September" TS or STS systems that developed in the Atlantic Basin during the 161 year period of 1851-2011. These figures include 2 "August" Tropical cyclones that achieved TS intensity (for the first time) during the month of September. Each one of the "August" TC's went on to achieve H intensity-with one of the two becoming a MH during the month of September. In all, these figures equate to a total of 3.11 September TS's or STS's per season, on average.

Also, there were 99 "August" TC's-of either TS or H intensity-that at least retained TS intensity into the month of September, as well.

Furthermore, 10 of the aforementioned 498 "September" STS or TS systems went on to achieve hurricane intensity in the succeeding month of October. Of those nine, 3 became "major" hurricanes shortly thereafter. Another 9 of the 498 September" storms were hurricanes that achieved MH intensity in the succeeding month of October.

There were also 5 additional "September" TC's that didn't achieve TS intensity until the succeeding month of October; two of which went on to become hurricanes.

b) Total number of Atlantic basin hurricanes: There were a total of 336 TC's that achieved hurricane intensity during the month of September. This figure includes two "August" TC's that reached H intensity during the month of September-as listed above.

The total also includes 20 "August" Tropical Storms that achieved H intensity (for the first time) during the month of September. These figures constitute a statistical mean of 2.09 September H's per individual season.

c) Total number of Atlantic basin "major" hurricanes: There were a total of 151 (possibly only 150) September TC's that achieved "major" hurricane (MH) intensity during the month of September.

This total includes 31 "August" Tropical storms (those that had already achieved TS intensity during that particular month) that went on to become "major" hurricanes in September, as well as the one "August" TC (as noted in #1 above) that also intensified into a MH during the month of September.

In all, these figures constitute a statistical mean of one September MH every 1.06 years, on average.

d) The most intense September hurricane: Hurricane Gilbert holds the record as the most intense September hurricane for anywhere in the Atlantic Basin. It was a category five hurricane with a MSW of 185 mph and a B.P. of 888 mb on September 13, 1988 at 8 pm EST. The Great Labor Day Hurricane (GLDH) of 1935 is a close second. It too contained a MSW of 185 mph. However, it had a minimum central pressure slightly higher than Gilbert at 892 mb.

e) The most recent September tropical storm: There were six separate tropical storms that developed during the 2011 H season. Three of the six tropical storms (Maria, Nate, and Ophelia) achieved hurricane intensity during the month of August-with Ophelia reaching Major hurricane intensity during the month, as well. In addition, H Katia intensified into a "major" hurricane during the month of September, after having reached hurricane intensity during the previous month of August. H Philippe formed (achieved TS intensity) around 5 pm AST on Sept. 24, 2011, while moving over the far-eastern Atlantic Ocean. It would go on to achieve a maximum intensity of 90 mph, while located far out in the central Atlantic, around 2 am AST on October 7, 2011. From there, it would continue to recurve and ultimately dissipate over the north central Atlantic Ocean waters.

f) The most recent "September" hurricane: H Ophelia of September 2011 is the most recent TC of hurricane intensity to develop in the Atlantic basin. It became a TS at 11 pm AST on September 20, 2011. After degenerating into a remnant area of low pressure on Sept. 25, it made a remarkable comeback and achieved H intensity by 5 pm AST on September 29, 2011. It went on to achieve a maximum intensity of 140 mph/940 mb as it passed about 225 nm to the NE of the Island of Bermuda.

g) The most recent September "major" hurricane: Hurricane Ophelia of 2011 is also the most recent September MH to develop within the North Atlantic basin. Please see 1f above for further details on this particular storm.

h) The longest period without a "September" tropical storm: There have only been four hurricane seasons in the entire historical record (1851-2011) that didn't spawn a TC anywhere in the Atlantic Basin, during the month of September. They are the hurricane seasons of 1879, 1890, 1913, and 1930.

i) The most tropical storms to develop in one season: The 2002 and 2010 Atlantic Basin hurricane seasons are shown to have been the most prolific for "September" TC formations. They each spawned 8 tropical storms during their respective seasons.

j) The most hurricanes to develop in one season: The 1955, 2000 and 2005 Atlantic basin hurricane seasons hold the record for spawning the most TC's of hurricane intensity-with 5 each, respectively.

k) The most "major" hurricanes to develop in one season: The 1961 season spawned 4 MH's during that particular season.

2) All U.S. Tropical Storm Landfalls:

a) Total number of U.S. tropical storm strikes: There were a total of 202 TS or STS systems that made a U.S. landfall during the aforementioned 161 year period. This equates to one September TS landfall per 0.79 years. Moreover, a full 40.4% of all "September" Atlantic Basin storms made landfall in the U.S.

It is important to note that the aforementioned totals include storm #4 of 1919, which came ashore at 9 pm EST on September 30. It is currently listed in HURDAT as an "October" TS landfall based on Zulu time-which was 0100 UTC on October 1.

b) Total number of U.S. hurricane strikes: There were 108 hurricanes that made a direct strike on the U.S. coastline during the month of September. This equates to one land falling September hurricane every 1.49 years. Furthermore, 32% of all "September" Atlantic Basin hurricanes struck the U.S. coastline.

It is important to note that this total includes storm #2 of 1929, which made a second U.S. landfall as a H at 0400 UTC on October 1 of that particular year-which equates to 11 pm CST on September 30.

c) Total number of U.S. major" hurricane strikes: There were 43 "major" hurricanes that made landfall in the U.S. during the month of September. 9 of these made landfall at category four intensity or greater. They are the category four 1900 "Galveston" hurricane, category four 1919 "Fla. Keys" hurricane, category four 1926 "Great Miami" hurricane, category four 1928 "Lake Okeechobee" hurricane, category five 1935 "Great Labor Day" hurricane, category four 1947 "Fort Lauderdale" hurricane, category four H "Donna" of 1960, category four H "Carla" of 1961, and category four H "Hugo" of 1989. These statistics equate to a "major" U.S. land falling hurricane-in September-every 3.74 years, a land falling category four or greater hurricane every 17.9 years, and a land falling category five once every 161 years, respectively.

d) The most intense U.S. TC landfall: The "Great Labor Day Hurricane" of 1935 currently holds the record as the most intense TC to make a U.S. landfall during the month of September. It roared ashore as a 185 mph/892 mb category five hurricane near Craig Key, Fl. (in the middle Florida Keys) around 630 pm EST on September 2, 1935.

e) The most recent U.S. hurricane strike: Hurricane Ike of 2008 is the most recent hurricane to have made landfall on the U.S. shoreline during the month of September. It came ashore on the eastern end of Galveston Island, TX. at 210 am CST on September,13, 2008. At landfall, it was an exceptionally large category two hurricane with a MSW of 110 mph and a BP of 950 mb.

f) The most recent U.S. tropical storm strike: Tropical Storm Lee of September 2011 is the most recent TC of either TS or H intensity to make a U.S. landfall-during the month of September. It came ashore over south-central Louisianna around 5 am CST on Sept. 4, 2011-with a MSW of 45 mph. Its large circulation and slow movement spawned severe flooding from the Lousianna parishes into Pennsylvannia and New York. Total damage estimates from the combination of torrential rainfall, tornadoes, storm surge, and tropical storm-force winds were about $1.6 billion.

g) The longest period without a "September" U.S. tropical storm strike: The longest periods of consecutive years without a land falling U.S. TS are 1866-1869, 1890-1892, 1951-1953, 1986-1988, 1990-1992, and 1993-1996.

h) The most tropical storms to make a U.S. landfall in one season: The 2002 season had the most land falling Tropical storms for the month of September-with 5. Surprisingly, none of these storms came ashore at hurricane intensity.

i) The most hurricanes to make a U.S. landfall in one season: The 1933, 1971, and 2004 Atlantic Basin hurricane seasons lead the way for U.S. hurricane landfalls-during the month of September-with 3 each, respectively.

j) The most "major" hurricanes to make a U.S. landfall in one season: The 1933, 1985, and 2004 H season's each currently hold the record for most U.S. land falling hurricanes that came ashore at MH intensity-with 2.

FUTURE BLOG ENTRIES:

I will continue to provide an updated blog entry (similar to this one) for all other respective months of a calendar year. Thus, my next blog entry will likely be on "October" TC activity for the period of 1851-2011.

As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read and/or post in my blogs. I hope each one of you have a great rest of the day!:)

This particular blog entry is an updated version of a similar blog entry I wrote last year (to account for the 2011 season and various other HURDAT revisions). In it, we will continue our examination of the entire historical record (1851-present), with a focus on "September" Tropical Cyclone (TC) activity throughout the Atlantic Basin. A "September" TC will be characterized as one that initially developed at some point during the month of September (i.e. September 1-September 30). Those TC's (shown by year) that achieved hurricane (H) and/or "major" hurricane (MH) intensity will be designated by bold case print in the following respective sections.

This is a visible satellite image of the most intense "September" TC to have ever been observed anywhere within the Atlantic Basin. At the time of this satellite image, hurricane "Gilbert" was near its peak intensity-with a maximum sustained wind (MSW) of 185 mph and a lowest central pressure of 888 mb. Image courtesy of "NOAA".

ALL U.S. TROPICAL STORM LANDFALLS:

Note: These totals include all U.S. land falling TCs of at least Subtropical or Tropical Storm intensity.

Note: Storm #3 of 1932 also made landfall as a TS during the month of August, prior to it's H landfall during the very early morning hours of Sept. 1. Likewise, Storm #11 of 1933 and Storm #7 of 1934 each made a subsequent landfall during the month of Sept. as a TS, following their respective landfalls at MH and H intensity, respectively.

Also: Storm #5 of 1961 (H Esther) may very well have been a H strike (i.e. delivered hurricane-force sustained winds to a particular coastal area) for eastern-most Long Island, N.Y. during the very early morning hours of September 21, 1961.

Furthermore, Storm #5 of 1972 (H Dawn) may have brought TS force conditions to the U.S. shoreline.

This is a truly historic photograph that was taken shortly after the most intense hurricane in U.S. recorded history had barreled through the middle and upper Florida Keys during the late evening hours of September 2, 1935. The Great Labor Day Hurricane (GLDH) of 1935 battered this area with a MSW of 185 mph and a lowest central pressure of 892 mb. Wind gusts of well over 200 mph and a storm surge of roughly 20 feet (above mean sea level) combined to devastate the region, and derail the "relief train" (shown above) that had been sent to evacuate those-mostly World War I veterans-that lay in harms way. Sadly, more than 408 persons perished during their encounter with the most powerful hurricane ever known to strike U.S. shores. Image provided courtesy of the NWS archives.

INTERESTING FACTS:

1) All Atlantic Basin Tropical Storms:

a) Total number of Atlantic basin tropical storms: There were a total of 510-1 "September" TS or STS systems that developed in the Atlantic Basin during the 163 year period of 1851-2013. These figures include 2 "August" Tropical cyclones that achieved TS intensity (for the first time) during the month of September. Each one of the "August" TC's went on to achieve H intensity-with one of the two becoming a MH during the month of September. In all, these figures equate to a total of 3.12 September TS's or STS's per season, on average.

additions for 2012 and 2013 were 6 ts/4 h/1 h. 50 , 338, 153. inludes period of 1941-1950. need to add a 2012 h fro august to totals, as well.